Prior to both the conception and subsequent development of the present invention, as is generally well recognized in the relevant printing ink formulation art, the various ink compositions that were being used rather extensively in ink jet type printing arrangements have normally all been manufactured with either water or a number of other chemical compounds being utilized as a solvent and/or carrier material for the ink dye. These prior art type printing ink compositions, however, are all known to exhibit a number of significant disadvantages in their use.
For example, certain known chemical solvent compounds that are presently being used in these particular ink formulations present a number of undesirable environmental problems. Such environmental problems, as would generally be expected by persons skilled in the art, can be encountered by both the manufacturer of the ink formulations as well as the end user of such inks. Additionally, these prior art chemical solvents, which are being rather extensively used at the present time, are relatively expensive and therefore add significantly to the cost of these inks.
On the other hand, when water has been used as the solvent and/or carrier material for the ink dye in these ink formulations it is generally well recognized in the art that the ink will have a tendency to smear and/or run if it comes into intimate contact with water. This will even be the case, for example, when such ink has been allowed to become substantially dry on the surface of the substrate to which it has been applied. Such smearing and/or running of the ink cannot normally be tolerated in most printing applications. The reason for this is that in these prior art water based ink formulations the ink will remain water soluble even after such drying has taken place.
Consequently, most of the ink formulations, which are known by the applicants to be in use in ink jet printing applications at the present time, normally require the use of the considerably more expensive and environmentally undesirable chemical solvent based ink.